Can-closure.



" No. 869,076. I PATENTED 001242. 1907.:

J. A. FLEMING.

CAN CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1906.

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1w 1W I W 3% MW ll W 0 CL 52 w W [I a l I i W @MESML-NZZEZ f I M ATZTOPNE rs JAMES ALEXANDER FLEMING, OF PAOLA, KANSAS.

CAN-CLOSURE.

Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907'.

Application filed April 14:. 1906. Serial No. 311,671-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES ALEXANDER FLEMING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Paola, in the county of Miami and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-( losures, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in can closures, and has for an object to provide a novel construction which can be easily operated for the purpose oi separating a lid from a can body so that alter the can has served its original purpose as carrier for oil or the like, it can be utilized as an ordinary bucket, the lid being adapted for application to the body and for removal therefrom in the ordinary manner, after the connection has been once severed; and the invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing Figure l is a side view and Fig. 2 a sectional view of the upper portion of a can provided with my improvements, and Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof showing a part of the sealing strip removed. Fig. 4- is a detail vertical section of a portion of the can body, and its lid with the sealing strip applied and a portion of the strip cut away and bent down to illustrate the operation of the invention. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion oi the sealin g strip.

The can body A may be oi any suitable iorin, cylindrical, rectangular, or otherwise, and its upper edge may be wired at A in the usual manner, and the lid I3 may be of any suitable construction, having a depend ing flange B to fit within the body A and the lateral flange or portion B to overlie the upper edge oi the can body as will be understood from Figs. l, 2 and t. It will also be understood that the can body may have suitable ears C and a bail (V as is usual in buckets. I may also provide the lid B with a nozzle 7) through which the contents of the can may be poured. For seal ing the lid on the body A, I provide the sealing strip D which is preferably of lead or other suitable soft metal and is folded longitudinally between its side edges iorming the upper and lower sections or wings I) and D which are united at their outer edges by the fold D, which is exposed beyond the can body and lid so that the folded joint between the sections D and D may be cut off by a knife or other suitable implement to separate the lid and body after the original contents of the can have been emptied and it is desired to utilize the can as a bucket iorordinary purposes.

It will be understood that in practice in sealing the can in the first instance the wing D' may be soldered to the upper edge of the can body and the wing D to the lateral flange of the lid, thus forming a complete closure between the parts A and B, will be understood irom Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. When it is desired to open the can it is only necessary to cut the folded joint between the wings D and D as will be understood irom Figs. 3 and 4-, thus severing the joint between the parts, when the bucket and lid can be used in the ordinary manner, the lid being readily removable as desired.

In practice the connecting strip may be oi annular form and cut and pressed from a circular ring of metal, or it may be made in the form of a strip oiindefinite length, and the sealing strips for the cans be cut therefrom in suitable lengths and bent around the can and soldered, as before suggested so that the double side or joint of the strip will extend out flush with the side of the can so that when it is cut off the cover or lid will be loose and can be removed and used in the ordinary manner.

It will be noticed that the upper and lower wings of the sealing strip when applied to the can, rest in horizontal planes, being in planes at right angles to the side of the can so that when the folded joint is cut off, the movement of the lid in remevingthe same, lifts the upper section bodily away from the lower section, without any frictional contact of one of said sections with the other, so that the opening of the can may be easily effected when the sealing strip has been severed, by removing its folded joint, as best shown in Fig. 4. Maniiestly, this is important, as it avoids any dil'liculty such as might result from a irictional binding of one section or wing of a sealing strip against another.

I c aim The combination of a can body, a can lid or cover having a flange to overlie the upper edge of a can body, and a sealing strip folded longitudinally be teen its side edges, forming an upper wing secured to the lid and a lower wing secured to the body, the wings resting normally flat ag inst each other and being located in horizontal planes, whereby when the folded joint is severed, said win s may he moved bodily apart without involving any tr -tional contact of the wings with each other, the folded joint between the wings being arranged at the outer edge or circumference thereof, and projecting beyond the can body and lid, whereby the folded joint may be cut oi't and thereby separated bodily from the wings which it unites to divide the upper and lower wings and free the lid or cover, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

.TAMES ALEXANDER FLEMING.

Witnesses C. N. PROUTY, C. H. WELLS. 

